Door fastener



Jan. 14, 1930. T. R. WEAR 1,743,839

DOOR FASTENER Filed Sept. 20. 1924 FLW fini/fs `2 Sheets-Sheet l n .dull

Jan. 1'4, 1930. T. R. WEAR 1,743,839

DooR FASTENER Filed sept. 20. 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNTE iSTATES APATENT OFI-ECE TANDY R. WEAR, OF COLTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, IO W. H. 'MINER, INCL, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE DOOR FASTENER Appleationled September 20, 1924. Serial No. 738,733.

This invention relates to improvements in door fastener. v

In railroad refrigerator cars, it is common practice to employ operating means for forcing the doors to tightly closed position, which means also serves to initiate the opening movements. As is well known, refrigerator cars are loaded and Vunloaded from platforms which are usually made substantially flush or slightly lower than the car floor in order to facilitate the trucking in and out of the load. In the majority of the door operating devices for refrigerator cars here tofore employed, a portion of the mechanism is extended a slight distance below the bottom edge of the swinging door to which it is applied, so that in swinging the door back and lforth over a platform flush or even a few inches below the car floor lever difhculty has been experienced due to there-not being the proper amount of clearance for the proj ecting portions of the mechanism.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient mechanism lfor hinged swinging doors and more particularly for refrigerator car doors wherejpressure is required in effecting the final closing and the initial opening movements of the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character indicated so arranged that the portions thereof which project below the door are withdrawn during the door opening operation to provide proper clearance so that the door may be readily swung back and forth over the loading platform.l Y Y Y j Other objects and advantages of the in,- vention will more clearly and fully appear from the description and claims hereinafter following. Y

In the drawings forming a partvof this specification, Figure 1 is a side, elevational view of a portion of a refrigerator car, showing my improvements employed in connection therewith. Figure 2 Vis a vertical, sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 2-2of Figure 1 and showing the refrigerator car doorin fully closedposition. And Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating the position of one of the or the final engagement between these elements at the end of the opening movement.

' In said drawings, the car wall is indicated by 10, in which is provided the usual side door opening of generally rectangular outline as indicated at 11. As customary, the said door opening is defined by the threshhold 12, side door posts 13-18 and a beveled lintel 14. The door shown is of the usual type, comprisingtwo members-A and B, each of which is hingedsalong oneof its vertical edges, the doors having beveled meeting edges. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the door A is adapted to be first moved to closed position, where it may be so held by a pivoted latch member 15 mounted on the car side at the bottom of the door opening. l- The other door B is finally closed by the operating mechanism, as hereinafter described. As isl customary in refrigerator cars, a spring pressed packing or insulation is applied to the verticall sides and the top edge of the door and also between the beveled meeting edges of the two door members A and B. In the present instance, the packing is shownas spring pressed and is indicated by 16 in Figures 2 and 3.

In carrying out my invention, I employ broadly upper and lower keepers C-C, secured to the car wall; upper and lower brackets D-D, securedlto 'the door B adjacent the -upperand lower edges thereof; a pair of-pivoted operating members E*E mounted on the brackets D an operating lever F a pair of links Gr and H, .each pivotally connected at its opposite ends 'respectively to the corresponding operating member E and the lever a guide bracket J ViiXed to the door B; and a locking device K mounted on the link `I-I.

The keepers GwG are secured to the car wall on the outer side thereof immediately above Vand immediately below the top and bottom edges, respectively, of the door member B at points relatively close to the free edge thereof. Each of the keepers C is in the form of a socket member having an opening 17 for a purpose hereinafter described.

T he brackets D-D are preferably of similar construction and one of the same is secured adjacent the upper edge of the door B while the other is secured adjacent the lower end thereof, the same being so located that they will be brought into vertical alignment with the corresponding keepers C when the door member vis in closed or in partly closed position. Fach of the brackets D comprises a strap portion 18 fixed to the door by any suitable means such as lag screws or bolts. rt the outer end, each of the brackets `D is provided with a pair of spaced eye portions 19 adapted to receive a pivot pin 2O on which the correspoi'iding operating member E is mounted.

The operating kmembers E are of like construction, each being in the form of a bell crank lever member having angularly disposed arms 21 and 22. The arm 21 is in the form of a pointed finger and is adapted to co-act and engage within the socket 16 of the corresponding keeper C, the finger 21 having the free end portion thereof pointed to'facilitate engagement within the socket. The lever arm 22 is shorter than the arm 21 and is provided with a transverse 'opening 23 adjacent the free-end thereof adapted to accommodate a pivot pinV 24 by which the operating member is connected to the lcorresponding link element. Each of the levers is pivotally mounted between the eye portions 19 of the brackets Dby the corresponding' pivot pin 20.

The bracket J is secured to the door member B adjacent the free edge thereof and slightly below the center and in vertical alignment with the brackets D, and is provided with a vertical guide opening 25 adapted to slidingly accommodate the link H for vertical movement.

The link G is in the formof an elongated, fla-t bar having its upper end outwardly 0E- set as indicated at 26 and provided with a pair of spaced eye portions 27 adapted to accommodate the arm- 22 of the upper operating member E therebetween Vand receive the pivot pin 22 by which the operating member is pivotally connected to the-link.y The lower end of the link Gr is also outwardly-offset as indicated tit-28 and has the free end thereof provided with a pair of eye portions similarV to those at the upper end thereof and also indicated by 27 The link H which is also in the form.` ofV a flat bar, has the lower end thereof` outwardlyV offset also, the lower free end thereof being provided with a pair of eye portions similar tov those at the upper end ofthe link G and also indicated by 27, the operating member E being pivoted to the link H by the pin 2liand having the arm 22 thereof disposed betweensaid eyes. Therupper endof the keepers C.

link H is provided with a single eye member 29 adapted to receive a pivot pinBO by which the link is connected to the lever arm F. The link H is slidably guided in the bracket J, the opening in the bracket being. ofl such a size. as to provide sufiicient play to permit of the necessary vslight swinging movement which the link has, due to its connection with the lower operating member E. rlhe operating lever F is also in the form of an elongated flat bar havingy a handle portion 31 formed at the outer end thereof, the handle 31' being offset with reference to the major portion of the lever as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 8. At the inner end, the lever F is provided with a pair of eyes 32 between which the eye 29 of the link H is disposed,

the operating mechanism is in the position shown in Figure 2, the lever F being disposed in a pendant position in parallel relation to the iink H but spaced therefrom. l/Vhen the parts are in this position, the fingers 21 of the operating members E extend within the sockets of the keepers C and the arms 22 are in a substantially horizontal position. To initiate the door opening movement, the lever 31 is swung upwardly to the position indicated in Figure 3, thereby swinging the arms 22 of the bell crank levers outwardly away from each other and pressing the fingers 21 against the'side wall of the car, thereby forcing the door B outwardly. At the same time,

due to the pivotal swinging movement of the bell crank members E, the fingers 21 will be withdrawn from the sockets of the keepers C so as to clear the same until they reach the position shown in Figure 3 when the door may be manually swung open. The door A is then opened manually in the usual lmanner, the latch 15 beingrst disengaged therefrom.

To close the doors, the door A is first brought to its fully closed position and latched by means of the member 15.` The door B is then swung to the approximate position shown in Figure 3 with the fingers 21 of the operating members E in alignment with the keepers C. To force the door B to tightly closed position, the lever F is swung downwardly, thereby rocking the bell crank members E on their pivots and engaging the finger portions 21 thereof with the corresponding In order to lock the door mechanism and iio seal the doors, when the door memberB is in fully closed position, any suitable means may be provided, but I preferably employ a pivoted latch member 35 mounted on the link I-I by means of a pin 36 riveted or otherwise secured to said link. The latch member 35 is provided with a lateral extension 37 spaced from the outer surface of the link I-I a sufricient distance to clear the lever arm F when the same is, in pendant position as shown in Figure 2. The lever arm F is provided with a slot 38 adapted to accommodate the outer head portion of the latch 35 when the latter is in the position shown in Figure 3, that is with the extension 37 disposed vertically above the pivot pin 36. In order to limit the swinging movement of the latch 35 so that it will be disposed in alignment with the slot 38, the link H is provided with a projection 39 having a stop lug 40 adapted to cooperate with the extension 37. rlhe parts are locked by swinging the latch member 35 from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 2, the lever arm having first been brought into its pendant position. It will be noted that the extension 37 engages the portion of the lever immediately below the slot 38 and thereby prevents outward movement of the lever. The extension 37 is preferably provided with an opening 41 adapted to receive the usual car seal, the lever arm being provided with a lug 42 having an opening adapted to align with the opening of the extension 37. As will be evident, the lug 42 also serves as a stop to limit the swinging movement of the latch 35 when swung downwardly.

I have herein shown and described what I new consider' the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modications that came within the scope of the claims appended thereto.

I claim:

l. In a refrigerator car having a door opening and a pivoted door, the combination with keepers secured to the outer face of the car wall adjacent the opposite edges of said door opening, each of said keepers having a socket therein provided with opposed walls; of operating members mounted on the d oor adjacent its opposite edges, each of said members being pivotally mounted and having one portion adapted to engage within the keepers when the door is in closed or nearly closed position; manually operable means for swinging said members about their respective pivots while engaging said keepers toco-operate respec-` tively with the opposed walls thereof and ef- Y fect iinal closing and initial opening movements of the door, said means including a link having one end pivoted to a portion of one of said members, and another link having one end pivoted to a portion of the other member,

the inner ends of said links being disposed v adjacent each other, and both links being freelv movable longitudinally with reference to the car door; and an operating lever pivoted tothe inner end of one of said links, and having'the inner end of the other of said links pivoted thereto in. spaced relation with respect to the pivotal connection therewith of the otherA link, whereby said links and operating lever are supported from said operating members and are longitudinally movable with reference to the door and assure proper engagement of said operating members with said keepers and compensate for variations in the positions of said operating members with respect to said keepers.

2. In a door operating mechanism, the combination witha door frame and` a pivoted door; Vof upper and lower keepers secured to the door frame above and below said door opening, each of ysaid keepers having a socket .therein provided with opposed walls; of bell crank levers pivotally mounted on said door near its edges at the top and bottom thereof, each bell crank lever having one arm adapted to engage within the adjacent keeper to effec't opening and closing movement of the door when said levers are operated; .a link slidably mounted on said door for longitudinal movement, said link having its outer end connected to the free arm of one of said bell crank levers, and a second link having its outer end connected to the free arm of the other bell crank lever, ythe inner arms of said links being disposed adjacent each other; and

an operating lever having its end pivotally connected to the inner end of one of said links and the other of said links having its inner end connected to said lever at a point spaced from the connection of said firstV link thereto, whereby said links and said lever are supported from said bell crank levers for longi- Y tudinal movement with reference to said door. In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 10th day of September, 1924.

j i TANDY R. WEAR. 

